Ladle pouring guide



Aug/15, 1950 M. J. HAKLIN, JR

LADLE POURING GUIDE Filed Sept. 11, 1947 Patented Aug. 15, 1950 LADLE POURING GUIDE Michael J. Haklin, Jr., Chicago, Ill., assignor to Crane Co., Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application September 11, 1947, Serial No. 773,476

3 Claims.

This invention relates broadly to foundry apparatus and more particularly it is concerned with a ladle pouring guide of relatively simple construction in which the pouring of molten metal is substantially expedited so as to avoid the usual inconvenience encountered and at the same time to permit more accurate pouring with less waste of metal.

In order to acquire an appreciation of the benefits of this invention it should be understood that in the pouring of molten metal from the conventional pouring ladle into the sand molds, by this invention it is possible for one man to perform the entire operation, without the assistance of a so-called shankman who otherwise is needed to steady the ladle by gripping one end of the ladle shank while the man who does the pouring manipulates the other end. As will hereinafter be brought out in greater detail, in the instant invention the shankmans end of the ladle shank is necessarily held in the desired position by means of a novel shank guide which preferably consists of a slotted tube rotatably mounted on a, pouring guide member moving along a track, the latter member having a fixed position with relation to the sand molds.

It will be further apparent that the pouring guide member supporting the slotted tube permits the ladle to be spotted for the pouring of any desired mold with the slotted tubing firmly holding one end of the ladle bail arm against end movement and thereby permitting it to be raised or lowered as desired while the rotatable mounting of the slotted tube as hereinafter explained permits the pourer to adjust the horizontal position of the ladle with relation to the mold as the change in the angle of the ladle makes this desirable during the pouring.

In contrast to this contribution, previous mechanisms for one man pouring have not provided a positive support and guide for the shank nor have they been combined with the freedom to move in any desired direction. Thus these earlier devices did not fully take the place of the manual support previously contributed by the shankman.

By means of the instant invention the pourer can adjust his ladle for pouring into the mold just as easily and as quickly as if he had the assistance of a shankman and he can thus pour a substantial number of molds before the molten metal becames too cold for pouring.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become more readily apparent upon proceeding with the detailed specification read in light of the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary front view of a mold installation providing with the pouring guide of this invention.

Fig. 2 is an end view of the same assembly taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a magnified view showing a front view of the ladle pouring guide per se.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 44 of Fig. 3.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

Referring now to Fig. 1, a conventional foundry mold support and conveyor I is shown upon which the tracks 2 are mounted for support of the wheels 3 of the mold carriage 4 and as presently indicated in carrying the molds 5. It should be understood that in the modern production foundry arrangement the molds during the course of pouring may remain stationary but after the metal has been poured the molds may then be pushed toward the end of the track support to a mold dumping device similar to that shown and described in pending patent application Serial No. 579,672 filed February 24, 1945, now issued as U. S. Patent Number 2,466,650 dated April 5, 1949. The latter arrangement however, is not either singly or in combination a part of this invention. In a conventional manner the pouring ladle 6 is supportably mounted in a bail ring 1 having the extension side arms 8 and 9 carried by the oppositely disposed bail I I provided with the hooks l2. The carrier may be preferably supported from above by means of an overhead or suspended hook l3 and the arms 8 and 9 may be made integral with the bail 1 although this is not absolutely necessary. Thus far the above description has only been concerned with apparatus suitable for normal foundry practice.

Heretofore, however, in the use of the mechanism just described, two foundry men have been necessary, one to handle the tilting of the pouring ladle at the arm portion designated I4 while the other man has been positioned at the opposite extreme end of the arm 9, designated I5, to guide and to hold the ladle against transverse movement in pouring of the metal. By this invention, the services of the latter mentioned man are eliminated. Accordingly, from this point on in this description the novel contribution of this invention is set forth.

Preferably at a suitable distance from one of the tracks 2, such distance being measured by the length of the supporting arm 9, a plurality of floor supported members IE (only one of which is shown) are used with an angular extension I! upon which the track I8 is fixedly mounted, the length of the latter track preferably being substantially the same as that of the tracks 2 used for support of the mold carriages 4.

Referring now to Fig. 3 and having in mind the location of the guide track I8 relative to the mold conveyor and support, the ladle pouring guide generally referred to as [9 is provided with the longitudinally aligned wheels 2| and 22 which contact the upper portion of the track 18 and preferably having the lower wheel 23 to engage the lower edge portion of the track l8 as more clearly shown in Fig. 4. All of these wheels, are preferably flanged as shown in the latter mentioned figure so as to engage the track 18 at its upper and lower edges relatively snugly as indicated so as to maintain the tube 25 in a relatively vertical position. The guide wheels are held in journally fixed relation by means of the guide housing 24 and are mounted for rotation within said housing by means of the axles shown. At the upper portion of the housing 24 and preferably in a central position in relation thereto is the said vertical slotted tube 25 longitudinally slotted as at 26 for nearly its full length and rotatably movable relative to the stationary extension 21 so as to permit the said vertically slotted tube to be rotated within the bearing 28 as shown more clearly in Fig. 4.

By reason of the axial rotatability of the tube 25 referred to, it should be clear that while the arms 8 and 9 are illustrated as extending transversely to the mold conveyor I, the tube 25 can be rotated 90 and thus allow the ladle to be poured from the side of the conveyor, in which case the pourer and the guide [9 would be on the same side of the mold support and conveyor I, rather than on opposite sides as shown.

It should be understood that the extension 27 for support of the slotted tube 25 may be integrally or removably attached, as for example welded or threaded to the housing 24 of the pouring guide l9 without affecting its function. As shown more clearly in Figs. 1 and 2, the ladle arm extension 9 is provided with a spherical end 29 having a narrow neck portion 3| substantially of the same diameter as the width of the slot 26, the ball portion 29 fitting slidably within the hollow cylindrical portion of the tube 25 as indicated more clearly in Fig. 4 to permit freedom in upward and downward movement of the arm 9. However, it will be apparent that since the guide member I 9 is relatively rigidly mounted with reference to transverse movement on the track I8, the tubular guide portion 25 permits little if any longitudinal movement of the arm 9 and therefore the entire ladle bail assembly 1 is held against transverse movement during the pouring operation. Thus the ladle spout is accurately guided throughout by the pourer alone. To allow for the engagement of the arm 9 with the slotted tube 25 and also the removal therefrom, the slot 26 may be enlarged at the lower end, as at 32. However, it may also be removed from the open top portion of the tubular guide. In order to allow for the removal of any metal accidentally poured on the track [8 the ladle pouring guide l9 may be provided with the fenders or scrapers 33 although it will be apparent that the latter are not absolutely necessary to the operation of the device.

The guide such as has been described above may be mounted either from a floor structure as illustrated or suspended from an overhead structure. Similarly a pinion engaging a rotatable rack may be suitable for the slotted tube. It is therefore apparent the invention may take form in many different ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a pouring guide for controlling the position of a ladle in a bail ring, said bail ring having oppositely disposed arms which are received in the hooks of a bail supported from above, one of said arms having a circumferential groove close to its end, the combination with said bail ring of a support at one side of a pouring position and a vertical tubular member rotatably mounted on said support, said tubular member having a vertical slot extending to its upper end, said slot receiving the circumferential groove, and the end of the arm beyond the groove entering the tubular member, so that the end of the arm is positioned directly above said support, and the arm can be swung about the support as a pivot and can be raised or lowered.

2. In a pouring guide for controlling the position of a ladle in a bail ring, said bail ring having oppositely disposed arms which are received in the hooks of a bail supported from above, one of said arms having a circumferential groove close to its end, the combination with said bail ring of a support at one side of a pouring position and a vertical tubular member rotatably mounted on said support, said tubular member having a vertical slot extending to its upper end, said support being track-mounted and being movable thereon only in diametrically opposite directions, said slot receiving the circumferential groove, and the end of the arm beyond the groove entering the tubular member, so that the end of the arm is positioned directly above said support, and the arm can be swung about the support as a pivot and can be raised or lowered while being maintained substantially immovable axially by the said trackmounted support.

3. In a pouring guide for controlling the position of a ladle in a bail ring, said bail ring having oppositely disposed arms which are received in the hooks of a bail supported from above, one of said arms having a circumferential groove close to its end, the combination with the said bail ring of a support at one side of a pouring position and a vertical tubular member rotatably mounted on said support, said tubular member having a vertical slot extending to its upper end, said slot receiving the circumferential groove, and the end of the arm beyond the groove entering the tubular member, so that the end of the arm is positioned directly above said support, and the arm can be swung about the support as a pivot and can be raised or lowered, the slot being enlarged at a lower end portion to permit release of the arm having the circumferential groove upon predetermined movement of the arm lengthwise of its slot.

MICHAEL J. HAKLIN, JR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 371,582 Hays Oct. 18, 1887 417,491 Kitzinger Dec. 17, 1889 581,949 Walker May 4, 1897 585,629 Reese et al. June 29, 1897 

